The fact this is coming from Der Spiegel is in itself rather amazing but see also February 15's
"How the Coronavirus Made Globalization a Deadly Threat"
Considering how much of Germany's economy is export oriented it's a bit
surprising to see major German media even raising the issue of the
downside to globalization....
From Der Spiegel, May 5:
The corona crisis is changing the global economy. Production security is
growing more important than efficiency. Here is what that might look
like.
Corona is here, and it won't be leaving anytime soon. Which means that
hopes for a return to normal are likely to be in vain. Furthermore,
everybody has become hyper-aware of the dangers of infection and it is a
fear that will stay with us.
Social distancing will continue to guide our personal interactions,
restaurants will leave every second table empty, open-plan offices are
being divided up and only two, maybe three, people will get into the
elevator at a time, and each will be facing a different corner. Such is
our new reality, and such are the changes coming to the world of work.
More than that, companies are trying to make themselves more resistant
to sudden economic shocks and resilience is the new guiding principle.
Industrial
machine producers, of the kind that make a huge contribution to the
German economy, have begun shifting priorities from making the supply
chain as cheap as possible to making it as secure as possible.
Wholesalers have turned to video chats when making large sales rather
than flying halfway around the world as they used to. Airlines,
meanwhile, find themselves fighting for survival and many have had to
take public-sector bailouts.
Indeed, in the foreseeable future -- for months, or perhaps even
years -- the state will be the savior of last resort for many companies.
It alone has sufficient means at its disposal to battle the pandemic,
minimize its economic consequences and prop up entire industries. And
not only is the state in Germany providing emergency aid, cheap loans
and economic stimulus, it is also ensuring that the minimum wage is
significantly increased for care workers in retirement homes while top
executives at companies like Daimler and Lufthansa are voluntarily
forgoing their bonuses.
Will It Be More Just?
Such is the
new world at the beginning of the 2020s. Its outlines are already taking
shape. It will be a world in which security will play a greater role,
as will central governments. But will it be more just?
Matthias Horx, a 65-year-old futurologist, dared making an optimistic
prediction right at the beginning of the corona crisis, arguing that
many things would change for the better. He believes the crisis provides
us with an opportunity to slow down the economy, to inject more
solidarity into society and to learn to be satisfied with less.
Bazon Brock, however, believes such ideas are nonsense. People never
learn the correct lessons from catastrophes, says the 83-year-old art
theorist. Following the financial crisis, he points out, banks
speculated more than ever. Arguing that crises are opportunities is
naïve, he believes....
